Author Topic: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show  (Read 23932 times)

Offline Kim

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #30 on: August 01, 2017, 05:20:15 AM »
That's pretty cool Hugh!  I've just been using a length of brass rod down through a collet in my mill to keep my tap centered. But this is ever so much more elegant!
Kim

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #31 on: August 01, 2017, 10:10:43 AM »
Great idea Hugh, so many neat "tricks of the trade" on this Forum. My I suggest threading the Cap and 1 end of the Tube if it needs to be taken apart for any reason.

Thanks for sharing,
THomas
Thomas

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #32 on: August 07, 2017, 01:43:41 AM »
Thomas: That would make sense. A while ago I made one 3/4" to fit Tormach tooling and I did thread the cap. I figured the 3/8" 0.028 wall tubing was too thin to thread. I'm sure it could be done but questionable for me to do. Here's a pic of the two together.


Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #33 on: August 07, 2017, 01:51:42 AM »
There is progress on Sherline tooling. I mentioned I needed to make some aluminum tooling plates for the mill. So:


They fit the Sherline T-slots, are about the width of the table, and are 1/2" thick. The concept is to drill holes and tap as needed. Then parts can be clamped to them and machined to and/or below the plate surface a few thousands. When the plates are too cut into to find a flat spot they can be surfaced, fly cut. When they look like swiss cheese and you can't find spots to drill holes, they are replaced.

I need to build some T-nuts that stay below the table surface. Haven't done that yet.

We'll see in the months ahead how well they work.

Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Flyboy Jim

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #34 on: August 07, 2017, 03:27:42 AM »
Tooling plates are really handy. I have Sherlines 4 x 10, plus the RT tooling plate. Really useful. Wish they were both bigger. I've also made a couple of smaller ones, like you have, as needed.

Now I just need to get back to using them!  :hammerbash:

Jim
Sherline 4400 Lathe
Sherline 5400 Mill
"You can do small things on big machines, but you can do small things on small machines".

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #35 on: August 07, 2017, 04:40:34 AM »
Jim: Sherline makes some nice tooling plates. But I fear if I bought one I'd try to protect it and not use is as it should be, disposable. These are from surplus aluminum so more cut up able in my mind.

But more. Back to an old problem, slipping QCTPs. I decided to make a QCTP riser to match the Sherline spindle and tailstock risers. I built it to have a raised "key" on the bottom to catch the table T-slot. That should keep that portion from rotating. In the top I cut a square recess to keep the QCTP itself from rotating. The pictures below show the parts involved.


The body is clamped to the table via a long T-nut and two socket head cap screws from the top. The QCTP post is threaded into the riser block.


The final installation then looks like this:


I haven't tried it yet. But it went together so well and I'm pretty sure it will work well. So I also made a short one for use without the Sherline riser block.


The first picture above shows the parts and the second shows the bottom of the plate. The post goes through the plate and is attached to the T-nut via a set screw threaded to both. This is the configuration the QCTP came with from LMS, but with a newly machined post. The second picture shows the bottom of the plate with its key. The top nut pulls the assembly together holding all solidly to the table. But for both the key fit to the T-slot and the square cut out on top is what prevents the QCTP from rotating. Here's a pic of the short tool post mounted.


They should work well. But I'll know for sure when I start using them.

Thanks for looking it.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Kim

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #36 on: August 07, 2017, 05:05:21 AM »
You're getting quite a collection of tooling there Hugh!  You should be ready to travel soon :)

Where will you be going first?

Kim

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #37 on: August 07, 2017, 05:23:44 AM »
And even more madness.

Above gerritv suggested looking at Tryally's Sherline pages on UTube. I'd seen these but before I went heavily into the Sherline world so I took another look. In his videos he used a slim line vice for the Sherline. This is a slick vice so I looked around for some plans and found Nino Ransenberg put together a description and some dimensions to build Tryally's vice. This is in metric in which I am illiterate, so using some of his dimensions I drew up a set of plans in the more friendly and usable inch system. My vice looks like this:




And the individual parts:


There are three main parts to the vice. The fixed jaw, L section, bolts down to the table via three socket head cap screws. These thread into one long and one short T-nut (bar). The fixed jaw has a key on the bottom to catch the T-slot so can't twist. It's held to the table solidly by tightening the three screws. The second larger part, the movable jaw, is also held to the table via a key, T-nut (bar) and two screws. It and the L section have a shallow "rabbit" where parts are held. A part is placed on the "rabbit" "shelf" on the fixed jaw and movable jaw. The screws on the movable jaw are made "finger tight". The third part, the clamp, also has a key, is held in place by a bottom key, with two screws to a third T-nut (bar). It is put in the table T-slot, as is the movable jaw, and moved up to the movable jaw. The clamp is them tightened to the table.  The screw, horizontally through the clamp, is then tightened against the movable jaw thus clamping the part. Finally the screws of the movable jaw are tightened. We're ready to machine.

The only change I made from Tryally's design was to relieve the fixed jaw so a long part can overhang and be held. It looked like a very useful piece of tooling. Haven't tried it yet, heck I just finished it. Time will tell.

Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #38 on: August 07, 2017, 05:28:56 AM »
Where will you be going first?

Kim

Kim: It's a secret. (And after looking for some time, I can't find a "shhhhhh" emoji  :disappointed:)

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Kim

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #39 on: August 07, 2017, 05:34:09 AM »
Where will you be going first?

Kim

Kim: It's a secret. (And after looking for some time, I can't find a "shhhhhh" emoji  :disappointed:)

Hugh

Does that mean you haven't decided yet?  Or she just hasn't told you?  :lolb:

At least you'll be set for tooling when you do go! ;)
Kim

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #40 on: August 07, 2017, 05:45:05 AM »
Where will you be going first?

Kim

Kim: It's a secret. (And after looking for some time, I can't find a "shhhhhh" emoji  :disappointed:)

Hugh

Does that mean you haven't decided yet?  Or she just hasn't told you?  :lolb:
YES

At least you'll be set for tooling when you do go! ;)
It is looking better. But there is so much I'd like to make/acquire. I still need a back side cut off tool holder, for with and without riser blocks. I need a holder to tram the mill, though that's pretty quick to fab. Would like a die holder for the mill and just spent $3 for Clickspring's plans, and maybe a fly cutter and a better boring head. As you know it goes on and on.

Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #41 on: August 09, 2017, 04:32:50 AM »
More stuff:

I've heard that a back side cut off tool holder has a real advantage in these small machines. So, I decided to build one for the Sherline. I found plans for one on this site. I copied these but for using a T-slot key on the bottom rather than a bar on the side to keep it square. The result is as shown:


The part on the right, in both pictures, is the main cut-off tool holder. It follows the design of the stock Sherline holder. A pocket is cut for the cut off tool to set into. The slots allow the screws to tighten and pinch the tool to hold it in place, due to flex of the top. The center stud goes into a T-nut holding the holder to the table.

The part on the left is a riser block when using the head stock riser. It also has a T-slot key on the bottom. Two counter sunk cap screws tighten the block to the table. Then the cut off holder key fits into the slot in the riser. The bolt that normally holds the holder to the table then holds it to the riser block.

The picture below shows the holder mounted to the Sherline table.


On the left side below the riser block is shown mounted to the table. You can see the counter sinks for the hold down screws. The pic on the right shows the holder mounted with the riser block.


I made a couple of test cuts. The cut off tool worked well with aluminum. However in steel it had some trouble. The problem was more "flex" in the chuck than the holder though. I haven't yet tried different speeds and feeds. But it works as well, and likely better than, the cut off tool in the QCTP on the front side.

All in all a worthwhile day spent in the shop. I used the knee mill to make these. Trying to get all the "larger" tooling I need made before I lose access to the large equipment.

Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #42 on: August 11, 2017, 12:31:11 AM »
Next up was a die holder for the lathe. I looked around the Internet for awhile and finally bought a set of plans from Clickspring for $3. Although I made a few changes to the plans it was well worth the $3. The main parts are shown below:


I followed the plans and came up with the version on the left. Hey, it's designed for the Sherline what could be wrong. When I tried it on the lathe it hit the cross slide table. I forgot that I replaced the table with a longer, and thicker, one for milling. So, I put it back into the large lathe and "thinned" it from 1.5" diam to 1.35" diam. The results are shown on the right. Real similar but now it works.

The bar fits the tailstock Morse taper. Then the holder body slides over it. Below is a picture, on the left, of the holder mounted to the lathe. It clears the cross slide table by an iota. The plans call for a handle which is shown on the right. I doubt it'll be needed. If it is I may make a nicer one, this one doesn't feel friendly to ones hand.


Haven't tried it yet but I don't see why it wouldn't work well.

Thanks.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #43 on: August 11, 2017, 12:44:34 AM »
Another bit of tooling. I made a tramming tool for the mill. The pics below show the results:


A bracket holds a small dial indicator offset from the spindle axis. Its 3/8" shank is held in a tooling holder. The shank is pressed into the cross bar and the indicator is held via the pinch screw. The second picture shows it in action. It is sized to fit the Sherline table so doesn't have much swing but works quite well. A mirror would help a lot using it!

I just put the milling column in place and found it out some 0.004" over 2". I've found one can twist the spindle a little as its clamping screw is tightened. This will twist the spindle slightly. It didn't take much fiddling to tram it in to within 0.001". The same trick works when mounting the spindle in lathe mode. I need to dial one or the other in and do some machining. With luck it'll hold its adjustment after use.

Thanks for playing.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Currin's Travelling Sherline Show
« Reply #44 on: August 11, 2017, 01:38:26 AM »
Wow, you have been busy Hugh!! No doubt you gave saved a lot of $$$ compared to sherline's prices for the same accessories too.

Bill

 

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